Chapter 11
"Excuse me, are you Mr Hunter?" A young officer dressed in uniform ran into the bar, hastily approaching him.
"Yeah, what's going on?" Adam asked, concerned.
"We got a call back at the station to do with a shooting and a possible kidnapping. Apparently, it was to do with the cab you ordered from your phone…."
"Wha…. what?" Adam struggled to respond for a moment. "What happened…?" He started to panic.
"Sir, please may I check your phone for the details just in case…?" The officer politely asked.
"Just take me to the fuckin' scene, why don't you?" Adam shouted, instantly alarming the other guests around who were still present at Tim's party.
"It's ok, he's just doing his job. Show him your phone first…" Estel calmly placed one hand on Adam's arm.
"I'm sorry…" his voice shook as he handed over the device.
"Officer, do you mind if we take your police car to the scene?" Estel politely asked, flashing her badge mid way through her sentence.
"Of course ma'am" he replied without hesitation, understanding that she was a superior in comparison to his own rank.
"Hey! What's going on?" Tim asked Adam as they got up to leave, worried after witnessing him perplexed.
"I'll fill you in later. Have backup on standby just in case…." Adam ordered with urgency in his voice. Then they were gone in the blink of an eye.
After reaching the scene of the crashed vehicle, Adam started to worry even more as Blaze was nowhere in sight. Her handbag and phone had been abandoned at the back of the car where there were blood stains over the seats. The driver who was still alive and on the way to hospital with a gunshot wound had informed them about the bikers and the fight as much as he could remember. So Adam did what he knew best, he went back to the beginning in order to retrace every single footstep leading to where Blaze might have ended up.
"Look…" Estel crouched down by the side of the road, trying to figure out the direction of the motorbike tracks.
"Get every inch of surveillance ready within a mile radius. They couldn't have gone far…" Adam ordered.
Eventually, after an hour of frantic searching, all the avenues they had gathered finally led to an old abandoned car park by one of Wood Oak City's major construction sites. By now, the time was almost midnight and Blaze had left the bar nearly 2 hours ago. The rain had stopped for now and the air was cold. Adam, Estel and a handful of officers followed protocol as they approached the basement of the car park with caution. They kept their torches and guns close to their bodies as something just didn't seem right here.
"Adam! Look!" Estel called him over. She crouched down then shined her torch over a black mask that had been left on the ground next to a bronze knuckle duster.
"Keep your eyes peeled and be careful!" Adam warned her as they began to search the upper levels of the premises.
Adam's throat abruptly sunk into his chest as soon as he spotted Blaze's body lying motionless on the ground in the distance. Nothing could have prepared him for seeing his friend in that state she was in. He hastily ran towards her then shouted back at the others for help where his hands were shaking and covered in blood.
"Blaze? Blaze, can you hear me?... SOMEBODY HELP!" He yelled at the top of his lungs before the other officers ran towards them.
"Oh my God," Estel gasped as she halted in her tracks with shock. There was blood everywhere all over Blaze's body and her face and pale neck were cold. She was almost unrecognisable after the beating she had taken with red and blue under her eyes all the way down to her neck. Blaze's clothes were also ripped and her hair was tainted with blood.
"Is she….?" Estel nervously asked whilst Adam tried again to listen to her pulse. "Call the paramedics…" he tiredly replied with little hope in his voice.
Estel gave Adam back an anxious nod as she reached for one of the radios, understanding that Blaze was still alive but unconscious.
"It's gonna be ok, we're gonna get you out of here…" Adam repeatedly whispered to Blaze as he carefully lifted her off the cold ground.
Estel leaned forward to help him as she placed her own jacket over Blaze. "The SIF and the paramedics should be here in a minute or so. Blaze is a fighter, I know she'll pull through" she reassured him.
"I hope so…" he nodded back at Estel with tears in his eyes.
It didn't take long for them to reach the hospital where the two officers waited there all night for news about Blaze's condition. Adam was clearly traumatised and had sat still outside in the corridor with his head buried in his hands for most of the night. Estel was constantly switching between checking up on him to managing her cell phone as her team of officers tried to gather evidence to find out what was going on. To say the early hours of that morning were stressful was putting it mildly.
At one point during the night, Tim also showed up at the hospital after hearing what had happened. The news had travelled fast amongst the police and their colleagues. At first, he had no idea of the severity of the situation as nobody was allowed to see Blaze at that point since the doctors were still trying to save her life in the intensive care unit. Adam wasn't in the mood for visits from anybody and wanted to avoid having to explain anything to anyone else other than those closest to him. He was unsure himself as to who was responsible for this brutal attack on his friend and what exactly had happened. Adam ignored all of the concerned missed calls and messages on his cell phone, mainly from Sammy and Max who had been worried sick.
Tim flashed his badge at one of the security staff as he frantically paced through the entrance of the hospital then into an elevator. His hands shook and he heavily breathed whilst he leaned against the rails inside it. He had felt sick to his stomach full of guilt and didn't know what to expect. It never once crossed his mind that they would go this far or could all go this wrong. The new Syndicate wanted to kill Axel, not Blaze as he was the leader of the group. The worst they had promised to do was rough her up a little to make her talk. That didn't mean Blaze would end up lying almost dead in an intensive care ward. The fact was, although Tim wasn't responsible for Mr X's death, he was to blame for what had happened tonight. He had made the choice to save himself and clear his debts at the expense of someone else.
He took a deep breath and composed himself as the elevator doors opened five floors up.
"Murphy? What are you doing here?" Estel frowned at him, surprised as she locked her blue eyes with his from a distance.
He placed his nervous hands in his pockets whilst the two of them walked towards one another. "I erm... heard what happened. So I came to see how Fielding was doing. She is my partner after all…"
Estel took a deep sigh. "Thanks but, the doctors aren't letting any visitors in right now".
"How bad is it?" He anxiously glanced forward towards the other end of the corridor where Adam was sitting by himself staring into space.
"We don't know how this all happened or why, but it's pretty bad. To say Blaze is fighting for her life right now doesn't quite cut it. We appreciate you coming but, if it's ok I'll give you a call when we have some news…?"
"Yeah of course," Tim gulped, placing one hand on Estel's shoulder. "If there's anything I or the team can do, let me know" he reassured her.
"Actually er… yeah, please if that's ok?" Estel requested.
"Sure, what can I do?" Tim replied, keen to help.
"Pull up any recent cases that you two have been working on, see if there are any criminals or organisations around who have wanted to hurt either of you for those drugs raids. You never know, somebody out there could have held a grudge. Even if it's a minor hunch, still bring it forward to me or my team".
"Of course! I was actually planning to go back to the precinct now to do that!" Tim nodded.
"Thanks Murphy", Estel gave him a half hearted smile before he left.
"What did he want?" Adam asked Estel with a pissed off tone in his throat.
"Murphy just came to check up on Blaze after hearing about what happened. Don't worry, he's gone now. You ok?" She worriedly asked.
Adam took a deep exhale as he took her hand. "You know, that could have been any of us in that hospital bed. Almost a year and a half ago before you and I met, the Syndicate took me. I still have the scars, physically and mentally to prove it. But whoever did this tonight… Blaze didn't deserve that!" He frowned.
"I know…" Estel gazed into his deep brown eyes, linking her arm through his as Adam opened up to her.
"Blaze was there when they had me for three days. Along with Axel, Sammy and Max, she had my back the entire time when they saved me. But what if it's too late? What if I couldn't save her or the baby…." he stared back at her with guilt and sorrow on his face.
"This isn't your fault! You have nothing to blame yourself for, you hear me?" Estel replied, hugging Adam close. "We don't know what exactly happened yet, but I do know that we will get to the bottom of this," she promised.
Just as Estel finished her sentence, the two of them anxiously glanced up to find one of the senior doctors staring down at them. They came out of their hold before the two officers stood up to face him.
"Hi, I'm Doctor Holden".
"Hi," Adam took a deep nervous breath as he and Estel both began to fear the worst.
"Is there er, a next of kin or a relative we could possibly get in contact with at this time?"
"Yeah," Adam nodded. "Blaze has a sister but she's back in London…. What's happening?" He was sweating and his palms were shaking at this point.
"I'm sorry, but we can only disclose sensitive information to the next of kin…." the doctor explained.
"Is she alive?!" Adam heavily breathed, slowly placing his hands on the doctor's collar with desperation in his eyes. Estel calmly moved in to pull him back.
"Yes, Miss Fielding is alive but…. I'm sorry. Please could you call her sister? We need consent from the next of kin as to where we can go from here."
"Please, I just wanna see her…"
The doctor sympathetically replied, "I'm sorry Mr Hunter. I appreciate your concern and you being here, but right now…."
Estel calmly interrupted him. "Look, I know you're sticking to the rules, but could you make at least one exception this time?" She asked, placing their two police badges in the doctor's hand.
"Come into my office," he nodded before leading the way.
"Please, take a seat" the doctor gestured across his desk. "As you can see from the scans here, the situation is not looking great right now. We've seen professional boxers take less hits than this and Blaze is lucky to still be alive. 7 of 12 ribs are broken as well as fractures to her skull which has also caused a punctured lung. We have her on a ventilator right now and have kept her sedated from the painkillers. The situation is changing hour by hour, but we're doing everything we can…."
"Thank you doctor. I will make sure we pass this information onto Blaze's sister" Estel replied.
"We need to make contact as soon as possible in case the situation gets worse. We don't yet know the full extent of Blaze's injuries, but if things get worse, her sister will have to make the decision of whether or not to switch off the ventilator."
The very thought of this made Adam sick to his stomach. He stared at the doctor blankly as he took a deep gulp.
"Then there's the other issue…" the doctor regretfully sighed. "We still also have to operate to remove the foetus."
"Are you saying that…?" Estel gasped and covered her mouth in shock as tears came to her eyes.
"I'm so sorry, but the baby had no chance of surviving this. Is there any way we could contact the father?" The doctor asked.
Adam leaned forward in his chair, shaking his head pessimistically as he broke his silence for the first time in that room. "Nah, that waste of space is long gone. That motherfucker doesn't even know about his own kid….!" He angrily huffed.
In that moment, Estel couldn't help but stare at him with disbelief and sadness on her face. She'd never witnessed Adam's hate and disdain like that for anyone, let alone his own best friend who he grew up with.
After that, the doctor had promised to let them know if and when Blaze was awake and when they could see her. The rest of the night was exhausting, but slowly the darkness started to turn into daylight. After unlocking Blaze's cell phone, Adam managed to retrieve her sister's number. He figured that it was now late morning in London, so she would probably answer his call. But instead, her phone kept reaching its voice mailbox.
Adam spoke tiredly and slowly, drained in his tone. "Hi Amira… this is Adam Hunter. You and I have met once before, I'm your sister's old partner in the police force. Please could you give me a call back when you get this, it's urgent. Thanks." As he hung up his own phone, he glanced down at Blaze's cracked phone in his other hand. The first thing he noticed once again was the wallpaper of her and Axel by the beach that she never once changed in the last four months.
He abruptly locked the phone then folded his arms as soon as Estel approached him holding two plastic cups of coffee.
"Thought you could use one of these…"
"Thanks," Adam sighed.
"Did you get through to Amira then?" She asked.
"Just the mailbox….I'll try again later…" he stood up, gazing blankly out of the window at the morning sunshine. "He's dead to me now…" Adam quietly muttered to himself under his breath with anger.
"Huh? What did you just say?" Estel cautiously asked him, uncertain at what she just heard.
This time Adam spoke louder, without giving a shit at who could hear him.
"Axel. He's dead to me after last night."
"You don't mean that do you?" Estel shook her head, concerned.
"I do!" Adam started to release what he was really thinking all night off his chest. "The fact is, if Axel was still here, none of this would have happened. He's lost everything and he has no idea because the man only thinks of himself." Adam clenched his fists.
"Do you think he'll ever come back?" Estel asked.
"No," Adam shook his head. "And even if Axel does, I'll send him right back to where he came from. You wanna know what the worst part of all this is?"
"What?" Estel frowned.
"I had that discussion with him before he left. Axel knew and understood that just because Mr X was dead, it didn't mean that we never had to watch our backs! I warned him, loud and clear! I told him there were still threats out there and others might start seeking revenge after what happened. This is why I really left WOPD, it was getting much worse. But as usual, he didn't listen to me and he left anyway for himself…." Adam snarled.
"I'm sure that Axel or any of us never saw this coming the way it did…"
"What if that was you in there huh? Or Cherry, God forbid! I would never be able to live with myself if something like that happened or if they hurt my child! Axel has a lot to answer to and he ain't gonna like what he hears from me if he ever dares to show his face around here again!" He paused for a moment. When Adam had his word set on something serious, he meant it.
Family was everything to him. He could never have imagined leaving his friends behind, let alone his daughter or brother. But Axel was reckless to him and had no responsibilities. He had dragged Blaze down a path and ultimately, the way Adam saw it, Axel had left her and his own child there for dead.
Suddenly, Adam's phone started to ring. "I gotta take this, it's Amira…" he paced away, distracted from their conversation whilst he answered the call.
The next 72 hours at the hospital were very unpredictable and Adam, along with the others, had remained on edge. Three days ago, Blaze was a young woman full of life with the rest of it in front of her, but now all of that seemed to be hanging in the balance. Just seeing her motionless in that hospital bed hooked up to machines and tubes left Adam feeling regretful. He began to regret the day he ever convinced her to fight on the streets as a vigilante by his side, he regretted advising Blaze to return to the police department even though her heart was in her dancing career and most of all, he regretted the day he introduced her to his best friend. All of those events had led up to now.
Unfortunately, Blaze's sister Amira was heavily pregnant herself so was unable to fly out to Wood Oak from London. But she called Adam every day and night for news, keen to know if and when Blaze would wake up. If she were to regain consciousness, Blaze would have a long journey of rehabilitation ahead of her and her body and mind would take a while to heal from this.
Then finally, one morning after the fourth day, Blaze started to open her eyes. At first, she had no recollection of how she arrived here or the traumatic events that had happened to her. It felt like she had died and left the world for a while. Either that, or this was all just one big nightmare for Blaze. The sunlight that shone into the hospital room blurred her vision at first. Blaze was still on a lot of medication, She struggled to move, let alone breathe.
Her eyes dazed every time she lightly blinked up towards the plain ceiling. Then suddenly, Blaze noticed something strange flickering around the room between the light and the shadows. The small object went into and out of her view quickly, but she couldn't move her neck or sit up to see exactly what it was at first. As her eyes adjusted to the light, Blaze reached one of her hands out forward, until the butterfly gently stopped on her palm. Its presence was calming and all the pain her body that she was feeling in that moment just drifted away. The room around Blaze was silent, almost like its own vacuum where she could even hear her own heart beating.
Then suddenly, the door swung open. It immediately distracted Blaze away from her thoughts. Within the blink of an eye, the bright white butterfly that had been flying around her had vanished.
She immediately heard a doctor's voice shouting in the distance by the door. "This patient is conscious! Get in here now!"
Blaze didn't recognise the face that looked down at her as the medic shined a small light into her eye. Her hearing was also still muffled and she could just about make out what the female nurse was saying. "Miss Fielding? Can you hear my voice or see me properly…?"
But Blaze ignored her. Her gaze was still fixated behind the nurse as she tried again to reach forward.
"Did you see that…?" Blaze quietly asked.
"See what? Keep talking to me…!" The nurse encouraged her as hope came to her face.
"The white butterfly… it was right here all this time…" Blaze's words slurred as her eyes started to close again.
"It's ok, you're probably just hallucinating, that's normal. I myself love butterflies, but it's still Winter here so they're not around… You're doing great!" The medic started to assess her state. "Remember, you're on a lot of medication at the moment but don't panic, we're looking after you and you're safe here at the hospital. We have to do some tests now. Please stay calm, everything will be ok…"
